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At its year-end meeting this month, the Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission reviewed its major 2024 accomplishments while funding essential flood mitigation projects for 2025.
“Despite three separate events of heavy precipitation last year, the Commission took another leap forward in its mission,” said Commission Executive Director Scott Pelath. “We reconstructed another mile of a badly eroding Yellow River banks. We removed an old section of bridge that impeded waterflow and hauled out scores of obstructions. Best of all, we laid the plans for even bigger projects ahead.
This year, the Commission continued its work to reduce channel-clogging sediment originating from the Yellow River in Marshall and Starke Counties. The Commission also demonstrated that with the help of key partners like U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and the Norfolk Southern Railroad, ordinarily arduous tasks like removing unserviceable bridges were suddenly achievable.
“The Commission’s work is starting to make a difference,” said Marshall County Surveyor and Commission Secretary Craig Cultice. “Since we started coordinating efforts to remove obstructions like logjams, we are seeing signs of high-water events be a little less high and a little bit shorter in duration.”
However, Commission members emphasized the need to continue the pace of change. In its 2025 budget, the Commission funded top initiatives intended to improve the Kankakee watershed as a whole:
$1.1 million to stabilize two miles of eroding Kankakee banks in Jasper County
$870,000 to complete Phase III of Yellow River bank reconstructions
$400,000 to remove obstructions and maintain riverbanks
$200,000 to prepare the worksite to remove the old State Line Bridge in 2026
“Major Commission projects provide a watershed benefit for all eight counties,” said Commission Treasurer Bill Crase of Starke County. “The planned State Line Bridge removal in particular will remove a recurring blockage for the flow of water from South Bend to Scheider.
“One day, I look forward to the bridge to be reassembled somewhere for the public’s enjoyment – just somewhere other than over the Kankakee River,” added Crase.
In addition to the adoption of plans, Pelath noted the meeting marked the final one for Kankakee Commission member and longtime Jasper County Commissioner Jim Walstra, who is retiring at the end of the year.
“We’re going to miss him in more ways than one,” said Pelath. “No one has been a more unwavering advocate for the Kankakee River and the people he has served for decades.”
Further information about Commission ongoing projects and plans may be found on the Commission’s official website at kankakeeandyellowrivers.org.
